


Electricity

by ImogenSmiley



Series: Reigisa [13]
Category: Free!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Free! Eternal Summer, M/M, Study Date, Studying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:41:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21773125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImogenSmiley/pseuds/ImogenSmiley
Summary: Studying was never fun for Nagisa, no matter what he did, the doodles in his margins, colourful stationary, or even decorated flashcards weren't helping his performance in school. Words would wash over him like high tide and he'd drown in subjects, desperately trying to tread water and take a breath.Studying was such a routine part of Rei's life that he couldn't go a day without engaging with academics in one way, shape or form. Encyclopaedias for the most niche subjects lined bookcases in his bedroom, most had been thumbed through several times over.
Relationships: Hazuki Nagisa/Ryuugazaki Rei
Series: Reigisa [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531475
Kudos: 6





	Electricity

Studying was never fun for Nagisa, no matter what he did, the doodles in his margins, colourful stationary, or even decorated flashcards weren't helping his performance in school. Words would wash over him like high tide and he'd drown in subjects, desperately trying to tread water and take a breath.

Studying was such a routine part of Rei's life that he couldn't go a day without engaging with academics in one way, shape or form. Encyclopaedias for the most niche subjects lined bookcases in his bedroom, most had been thumbed through several times over.

The couple had drunk three mugs of tea each, and had decided to study for their upcoming closed book exam by discussing quotes. They exchanged smiles over the top of their books as they highlighted their copies. Pastel and neon highlighters and fine-liner pens littered Rei's bedroom. The entire space was a mess, littered with study materials.

Sheets of A3 paper lined the floor beside them, colour-coded quotations, with a page reference beside each quote. Underneath, was analysis, explanations and modernization some of the otherwise complicated archaisms. Many markers had been discarded toward Rei's wastepaper basket.

Rei's copy of the text was highlighted with a variety of different colours. Beneath, each quote, in a fine-liner pen, was a brief description about how it could be used in an essay. He'd have to churn out a few practice ones later. Just to be sure. He'd write them by hand, type them up and then leave them for a few days to scrutinise later. He needed to make sure he was still at the top of his game. He knew his family wouldn't be happy if they realised that Rei was in a relationship, and from the moment he and Nagisa started dating, his grades began to slip.

Nagisa had refused to deface his book with highlighters and had instead bought a spiral bound notebook, where he’d written all of the quotes down, with thorough explanations of what the quotes meant in context. Then, beneath that, were explanations of how it could be applied to questions. It had taken him a lot longer, but it was easier to access, so he was satisfied with it.

But they still had lots of work to do. It had been hours, and their stomachs were rumbling, but Rei had insisted that they carry on for a little bit longer.

The boys had moved off the floor, taking turns to wear Rei's sleep mask, and the other would recite quotes, making the other guess who said them. They had been working for hours, and the shorter of the pair was getting antsier.

Nagisa drummed his fingers against his thighs, lips pursed, his eyes were covered by the purple eye mask, but he was struggling to recall all of the quotes. He sighed to himself.

"Rei-chaaaan, I'm bored, I can't focus anymore!"

"Nagisa-kun, please, if I don't complete this, I am bound to fail the test."

He snorted, "Oh please Rei-chan, your brain is a HD camera and mine is a thumb on the lens."

"That's not true, Nagisa-kun, give yourself some credit."

The blond shook his head and removed the eye mask from over his face. The papers with the quotes on them hadn't been moved since he'd looked at them to quiz his boyfriend. Rei hadn't even looked; the exercise was working for him. Maybe it could work for Nagisa too, but it would take longer, be more monotonous, and frustrating for Rei.

Nagisa shook his head again, blinking frantically as his eyes adjusted to the light. His best friend and boyfriend was sat just inches away, his brows knitted together. Rei's hands reached toward him, but he hesitated, not wanting to cross a fault line he couldn't see.

His words from a few weeks prior echoed in Rei's head. How they'd broken into Iwatobi SC Returns and hidden at the poolside. How they'd shouted at one another for not understanding, for not communicating. They were doing a bit better, and studying together more frequently, but it tended to end with burnout squabbling with tunnel vision.

Rei exhaled quietly, his violet eyes sparkling, "Yeah, maybe we should stop."

"Really! Oh my gosh! Let's go out! It's still bright out! We can go skip rocks or play in the arcades! Let's go! Let's go!"

He turned away from his boyfriend and eased himself off the bed, dancing around the notes on the floor. He stood at the door and beckoned Rei to follow. He, like Nagisa, stepped with caution around the pages, standing on his tiptoes, like a ballerina on pointe. He leapt over scrap paper and joined his boyfriend at the door without a stumble. They exchanged a small smile.

Rei couldn't help but laugh, as much as he was desperate to launch himself across the room and up onto the bed, he wanted to keep Nagisa happy. The exam wasn't for a few more weeks. Winding down might not be the worst idea.

"Let's go let off some steam, then maybe we can try again tomorrow?" Rei tried with a small smile.

Nagisa nodded, "Let's go!"


End file.
